Well jelly it might have something to do with you not having a fish covering your chest, or the fact you wear that collar all the time and it always feels weird taking off something that has been on your skin/fur for a long time.

I know after 15 hours of sitting at the computer on a hot day, when i stand up my butt feels naked.

i put a harness on my cats, both of them. and when they are doing anything wrong i pick them up by the harness. safer on them and me. first time they took a couple steps and dragged themselves to the wall. it was funny and they dont run the risk of choking to death. and people say im mean.

My dog hates it when I take off his collar. I think he takes it as I’m getting rid of him (hes a rescued dog, abused) Even when I put it back on, he stays clingy and need reassurance. Its cute in a sad way

This IS the first time we’ve seen Peanut and Grape without their collars. The only other pet we’ve seen with out a collar is Fox, during the PETA arc. Darn it. Why do they seem naked when they aren’t wearing collars? It’s a mystery.

Heh, love the different reactions of Peanut and Grape. It contradicts what you’d almost expect – Grape, the one who’s normally outspoken and confident, makes a quiet, uneasy comment instead about the lack of a collar. Peanut, on the other hand, is the one giving the cashier sass, this case, in the form of a raspberry.

The only thing that makes it even remotely predictable (and not by much!) is the fact that this kind of contradiction is done all the time in stories, comics, movies, ext – the outspoken character who’s quite in a situation you wouldn’t expect them to be, or vice-versa. Even with that in mind, tho, it’s still a bit surprising, so it’s not a bad trick in the least.

This one deserves at least 2 follow-ups IMO – they’ve gotta pick their snacks/drinks out still after sorting out the collar/leash situation, lol. ^_^

The role-reversal does tend to be predictable. For example, young, vibrant couples come and go all the time, and often bring each other to meet their families. At that point, I don’t care how outgoing you are, if you’ve retained even a shred of instinct, you’ll be sticking your tail between your legs before you do anything you’ll regret later! And the returning member of that family? Reserved or personable, it all goes topsy-turvy.

…at least that’s what cocacolonial society and my own experience have taught me.

My dog loves getting her neck scratched when we take her collar off. I think it iches or something.

Also, the reason their necks look thin may just be that after wearing the collar for months on end, a dog or cat’s neck fur tends not to be as fluffy as normal.
Or it’s the drawing style, heck I dunno.

It could also be that Peanut is smallish(?) for a dog, or perhaps of a smaller dog breed than so-called normal dogs; no worries, I could get used to calling her ‘Jelly’; “I do not want to catch pregnancy!” HA; don’t be silly, you’re making the internet more interesting; the line between insanity and genius is all-too blurred; I doubt yours is the only one; and, finally, Blarg Blarg, Blarg-Honk.

Is it just me, or is Grape looking very nervous and uncertain in the first panel, holding on to daddy’s hand? Like, she’s now far away from familiar surroundings and ill-at-ease because of it? Dogs genuinely do better with travel and new places than cats do, I wonder if this is one case where Peanut will handle things better than Grape?

When I saw it, it seemed to me that they were just doing a very cute, affectionate father-daughter type thing that pulled at my heart strings. The rest of that paragraph, however, is both plausible and probable.

… What the hell is a ‘heart string’, anyway? I don’t remember that in biology.

This ones on us, the readers, for those who haven’t caught on – We’ve become so used to seeing Grape, Peanut, and any other Housepets! pets with collars that, when said collars are removed, we the readers automatically react with “Hey, their collars are gone, they’re *gasp* naked!” It’s not a 100% original joke, but it tends to remain funny none the less each time.

Summary – Ricks having a bit of a joke here at our expense, and we’re laughing along with him. Very well played joke. = )

It does not necessarily require the establishment of nudity, but rather the observation that the character is somehow incomplete. Only then does a reader find it to be the collar, the character’s only consistent article of clothing, leaving them without clothing at all. They will therefore find its nearly identical relationship with the definition of ‘naked’: ‘having no clothing or covering, especially either of which that is otherwise common’, in short.

That was just a compounding thought, really; another probability. As for the joke, I’m sure he knew we’d get a kick out of it. If we were openly amused by pie-throwing, he’d throw an occasional pie just to make us smile. Maybe as a cheap method for ego-boosting as well, but I’m sure he’s far from suffering -that- kind of emergency.

“no pets allowed without their leashes”, the the guy takes off their collars and runs off.
……..yet another comic strip that didn’t make any sense to me even when I looked at it over and over and I had to ask someone else about it………

Apparently if they don’t have their collars on, their not pets. which still generally makes little sense to me and if that is the “joke” then I feel it’s a very ambiguous one. They’re still the guys pets even without the collars.
….ugh….